Exclusive Interview with Mark and Michael Munoz of The Amazing RacePosted on 04/20/2009 by Gina in Amazing Race 14, Cast Interviews

by Gina Scarpa

Mark and Michael Munoz will go down in Amazing Race history for a few reasons. First, these brothers, at 4’9, are the shortest team ever to compete on the race. Second, no team has ever incurred more penalties for breaking the rules. On last night’s episode, a 2 hour penalty plus a Speed Bump task for coming in last place on the previous leg proved to be too much for them to overcome and they were eliminated from the race. Today, they spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview and weighed in on their competitors and the decisions they made that cost them the race.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Whose idea was it to try out for The Amazing Race?A. Mark: I was approached by the casting directors. For years, they had been looking to get two jockeys on the race. When I called them back to talk about sending in my video with a friend of mine, I also suggested that I bring my brother on the race because I thought that was a neat storyline. Both of my teams made it to the final picking and we ended up getting on.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What kind of preparation did you do, in advance, before going on the show? Did you work out or study languages?A. Mike: You can’t really study languages because you have no idea where you’re going. As far as physical abilities, we’re stuntmen and we have to train anyway. Languages - you can’t really be prepared with. We speak a little Spanish.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you feel like, on this last leg, Tammy and Victor had a big advantage speaking the language in China?A. Mark: After watching the episode, them speaking Chinese and being Chinese helped them just a little bit. When you’re talking to a taxi driver in Mandarin and telling them they need to go somewhere in Cantonese, all it does is help the other teams who are going to follow them. People all over the world don’t even know what’s going on around the corner. Most people are lost in their own neighborhood!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I don’t think I’ve ever seen teams be so impatient with the local people as I have this season. Did Jaime and Cara’s behavior, in particular, surprise you and what do you think when you watch the episodes back?A. Mike: That’s just how we were brought up. We were taught to be very respectful of other people and cultures. That’s just our upbringing. I wasn’t surprised at all by Jaime or Cara, well, more one than the other. Most people get very frustrated when they aren’t able to communicate.A. Mark: I’ve traveled abroad before and as far as Jaime and Cara, they were just being themselves. That’s just their personality. They’re not the brightest star on the tree. They tried to work a lot of stuff off of their looks.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I know you guys missed it but care to weigh in on the throwdown between Jen, Kisha, Margie, and Luke at the mat on last night’s episode?A. Mike: I would’ve loved to watch it! We had no idea that was happening. Not that we didn’t see it possibly coming between somebody because when you’re racing for a million bucks, you’re going to do what it takes to get ahead.A. Mark: It is a race for a million dollars. By this time, you kind of knew how everybody was gonna act and react. Any advantage you can do without breaking the rules or the law, you’re gonna do whatever it takes.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Speaking of breaking the rules, you guys incurred a ton of penalties this season! What do you think of it all, when you look back on it?A. Mike: I tell you, we got a new record, don’t we? [laughs] It was all based on our reactions and the heat of the moment decisions. We don’t want anybody going away mad at us or having not done the right thing, especially in countries where people are poor and doing what they can to make a living. Mark and I come from a background of doing the right thing. It’s just proper. A. Mark: As far as coming up short and giving the cab guys our stuff, sometimes it’s a moral choice more than right choice. We weren’t looking for any advantage. We were just trying to do the right thing.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you guys have a favorite leg of the race or favorite challenge this season?A. Mark: I had a lot of favorites. There were some really fun things because I’m a physical challenge kind of guy. Running through the streets of Moscow in my underwear… that’s something you can never do again without getting arrested!A. Mike: Switzerland is beautiful and that bungee jump… man, what a kick! We got to go to China with this beautiful landscape, even though it was our final leg.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How has life been since the race? Are you getting recognized when you’re out in public and what does the future hold for the two of you?A. Mike: As far as the future, I love my job as a stuntman and I know Mark would tell you the same thing. I just doubled Danny DeVito, I just finished a project, and it’s coming out in August. I spend as much time with my family as possible. They get a kick out of the fact that, when we go to Disneyland, I get recognized there.A. Mark: I got recognized in the airport in Utah while on a project I just finished in Park City. A couple big, burly college guys… not attacked me… but approached me and I signed their backpacks and got pictures with them. As far as the future, I’m still an active, professional jockey and love my stunt career. I’ve got an 18 year old ready to go away to college. I just love life in general and I’ll just keep working!

Mark and Michael, the stuntmen brothers, surprised a lot of people this season on The Amazing Race. While often portrayed (wrongly) by CBS as bumbling fools, Mark and Michael proved to be able racers with incredibly high motors, and exceedingly likable guys to boot. While a couple of mistakes placed them in an unenviable hole going into last night's leg on The Amazing Race, the brothers kept their spirits high and never gave up. We had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Mark and Michael earlier today, and they were as congenial as you might expect.

Brothers Mark & Michael (right) never had any problem with the physical challenges on the race, but sometimes struggled to follow the rules. What do the most-penalized team in Amazing Race history say about their penalties, their experiences on the race, and what they most loved about the whole experience. Read on to find out more.

Michael: You know, it was Mark’s idea, actually. He was putting together a couple of teams, and I said, “Heck! I’ve always wanted to do that. I’ll give it a shot.”

Mark: I was actually approached by the casting director – they were looking for two jockeys – and the fact that I’m an active, professional horse jockey… I also suggested my brother because we are both professional stuntmen. Believe it or not, both my teams made it to the final cut. So, that was kind of cool.

RNO: You were applying on two different teams at the same time?

Mark: Yes. [In the semi-finals] there was a very good chance that I was going to make it on The Amazing Race.

RNO: Either with your fellow jockey or with your brother?

Mark: Right!

RNO: How long have you both been stuntmen?

Michael: I’ve been a stuntman for most of my adult life, but I grew up as a diver – a competitive diver. Then I kind of grew up with the Dog Town skateboard crowd. That was my crowd when I was growing up and surfing professionally.

Mark: I’ve been a professional jockey all over the world for about 24 years. I’m still an active jockey. I’ve been a stuntman for about 12 years. I’ve always been into athletics and extreme sports.

RNO: Physically, you guys seem made for the race. But you seemed to have issues with reading clues and following the rules. Why was that?

(Both laugh.)

Michael: Well, you know Teeuwynn, in the heat of the moment when you’re actually doing it, you’re compelled to do… Especially with our cabs, we felt compelled to do the right thing for those people who were working so hard for us. We didn’t want to try to get something for free.

It was more about being, as we say in Hawaii, pono – doing the right thing.

RNO: Did you know when you hid the air pumps or were trading your belongings for cab fare that it was against the rules?

Michael: Go ahead, Mark.

Mark: I mean when I hid [the air pumps] I thought I was just bending the rules, because it wasn’t like I hid them under a blanket. As far as the cab goes, it was more of a moral issue. These guys had been running us all around China, driving their cabs around and doing their darndest to try to keep us in the game. When you come up short on money you just… I felt I had to give him something.

We didn’t want to leave him hanging. We didn’t want to leave him stuck. I felt really good about giving him stuff out of my pack because it wasn’t just regular stuff, it was some pretty unique items.

RNO: So, you knew that you would get a penalty for that?

Mark: We realized there might be some consequences, yes.

Mike: We had no idea that the penalty would be that severe – maybe an hour between the two [trades]. Actually I thought, “Why would they give two penalties for the same situation?” But, they did it.

RNO: It turned out that you went back for those bags with your items and that ended up costing you quite a bit of time – even before the penalties.

Michael: In actuality, we had to go back. We talked it over. We didn’t know where we were going next. If we ended up in the Arctic Circle with just our shorts that could have been a situation.

Mark: That would have been alright!

Michael: Not only that, it was made clear to us that we did have to take care of our cab. So, we would have left that cab hanging and still been penalized.

RNO: Why did you assume that you would be going back to the docks in that leg?

Mark: There again, the whole race – and it’s happened to every team in the race – you don’t assume anything. You just do it. You just get the clue, do it, and continue on. Sometimes, whether you’re working as a team or not, you just instinctively go do it.

When you jump on that boat… I mean, I did realize – and it was on the show – about our bags. And, yes, I could have lived without my bag and everything else, but ultimately you just do things right – and wrong – on the show and there ends up being consequences.

RNO: Were you thinking of the game when you did hide those air pumps? Were you weighing slowing other teams down with having a possible penalty?

Mark: That was my idea. I was hoping it would slow the teams down if they didn’t realize they had flat tires, but I didn’t think it was going to be consequential like that. I saw it as bending the rules – I don’t know how much of breaking the rules it was, putting the air pumps back in the box where they might belong. It was kind of a 50/50.

Michael: The pumps weren’t hidden! He just put them in the box. They were still in plain sight. They just happened to be in the box instead of spread around on the ground.

RNO: Once you got the four hours of penalties going into this last leg, did you have any thoughts that you might be able to get back into the race?

Michael: Well, with that four-hour penalty, I felt like, “That’s our demise.” There was a glimmer of hope, but there was actually more of a window of opportunity once we got into Guilin and we saw that the other teams had to stay overnight at a park and wait until the park opened in the morning.

We were staying overnight at the airport in Bangkok. There was actually more of an idea that we would have a chance once we got to Guilin.

RNO: How far behind the other teams did you get to the park – due to their delay.

Mark: We couldn’t tell exactly how far behind the other teams we were, but there was a time when the park opened and we realized we could be less than an hour behind when we got there. We weren’t exactly sure. We just rock and rolled through.

It was actually a very good leg for us. There were no errors, and even with the hair washing we had to stop for, we made really good time. We ended up just a little more than a half hour behind Jaime & Cara. So, we made up almost three hours from the beginning of that leg to the end.

RNO: Did you have a favorite moment on the race.

Michael: There were a lot of fabulous moments! The train ride through the Alps… and for me, that bungee jump was just incredible. For me, one of my favorite places was in Guilin in the final leg. It was just a spectacular place. I think it was called the Palace of the Moon. It was this incredible landscape. Gorgeous!

Mark: The train ride through the Swiss Alps was a pretty amazing sight, but running through the snowy streets of Moscow in my underwear – I don’t think I would ever get to do that again without being arrested.

RNO:You’re brothers and have known each other your whole lives, but did you learn anything about each other on the race?

Michael: What I did come away from it with was that I know for sure that Mark is reliable. It confirmed the idea, but we’ve always been pretty close. Not only is he reliable, but capable, and a great brother.

Mark: Yeah, doing the race with Mike was a lot of fun. He’s mellowed out a little bit. He lives in Hawaii. How can you not mellow, living in paradise? But he’s still got that spark. He doesn’t have quite the competitiveness that I do, but I’m still an active, professional jockey. We have to be. It’s just part of our lives. We live it. But it was a great experience to do it with him.

RNO: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your experiences on The Amazing Race.

Michael: I’ve got to tell you, if anybody out there is even entertaining the idea – do it. It’s incredible! It’s one of the most phenomenal things you could possibly do. You get to experience all the people and places and, for me, it’s actually made me realize just how great my life is and appreciate it more.

Mark: We travelled in nine countries and lots of planes and cab rides, and saw some pretty emotional stuff. It’s definitely an eye-opener. It makes you realize that things happen just naturally, and you accept it. Whether you’re in India or Thailand, we talked to people about the tsunami and saw some devastation in India. We saw some really good, happy stuff in other places like Romania.

It’s just a mound of experiences and cultural shock and fun things with local people. If anybody gets the opportunity – you don’t want to turn it down.

I want to say again that I love these guys and they were great sports thru out the race and very entertaining. I bet in real life they would be a blast to hang out with and get to know

I agree with you Puddin. I have liked these guys right from the start and had them pegged to be in the final three. Unfortunately some of their judgment calls caused their demise, but it was not due to lack of racing ability.

Whats your take on the filming Ken? Was Jorge Garcia's interview filmed (we know some time last week as its the same clip Bonnie Hunt had up on her website on Friday ) and do you think the brothers were filmed early on too? or they could have been filmed yesterday I suppose and everything was edited into the 1 hour show.

The only part that threw me off was the brothers clip that they showed at the end of the last episode.. when they were eliminated ( she must have copied it from CTV or a torrent) BUT that could have been edited in as well. Bonnie said something at the beginning of the show like "no no we'll show their clip before they come out" as she was waving some papers.

I'm YTing it but lord only knows how much longer its going to take, lol

I want to say again that I love these guys and they were great sports thru out the race and very entertaining. I bet in real life they would be a blast to hang out with and get to know

I agree with you Puddin. I have liked these guys right from the start and had them pegged to be in the final three. Unfortunately some of their judgment calls caused their demise, but it was not due to lack of racing ability.

Ooh, sorry not to share in this opinion, but I only liked Michael at the end. Mark and his talking like locals thing annoyed the piss out of me. I'm glad they're gone.

Logged

JamisonEleven teams race around the world for $1,000,000 on The Amazing Race 14! Sundays at 8/7 Central on CBS!

It seemed inevitable that stuntmen/brothers Mark and Michael Munoz would get the boot on this week's Amazing Race, seeing as they started the leg with a three-hour-plus penalty that appeared impossible to overcome. But unlike their past few bumbling outings, Mike tells TVGuide.com they ran a "seamless" leg that nearly ensured them a final four spot. How close were they? Find out below, as well as get an explanation of their penalties and learn which Racers suffer from a "lack of personality."

TVGuide.com: We have to talk about the past two weeks and the penalties you incurred. Did you not know the rules beforehand, or were you caught up in the moment and forgot them?Mark: When we were in Thailand, it was my idea to put the pumps back were they belong, so to speak. I thought I was bending, not necessarily breaking, the rules, because they were still kind of in the vicinity. Who could've known they would've tried to pull those rickshaws with flat tires? The cab rides in Bangkok — in the heat of the moment, it was more of a moral issue where these guys had been dragging us all over to get us to our destination and there was no way I was going to leave the guy hanging. The stuff I gave them, I thought they were worth far more than what we owed them. Mike: What you didn't see on camera was that we did have to square up with the cab that had our bags, otherwise we would've been penalized anyway, which was emphasized. We also got taken by one cab who charged us more [than what he told us he would]. We just didn't know the [penalties] would be as severe as they were.

TVGuide.com: What do the rules state? That you just can't give away stuff you brought from home?Mark: Yeah, you couldn't bribe your cab with your personal belongings. But if you picked up things along the way, which is what we did in Siberia with jackets and things, you could use those things. But something happened earlier in the Race — misconceptions — that [led us to think] we could use personal belongings. Something that happened in an earlier leg gave us the idea it was OK to barter with our stuff.

TVGuide.com: How far behind everyone were you when you finally got to the Pit Stop this week?Mike: We actually made up quite a bit of time — three hours — and came in about half an hour behind the fourth team. We powered through the leg. We did dancing because both of us are trained dancers, so we picked up that pretty quick. Our cab driver was just fabulous. She went through Guilin like no one's business.Mark: Once we got to Guilin, there was a beginning part of the leg where the rest of the teams had spent a night at a park because [the place we were supposed to go to] wasn't open until the following morning. So it gave us a lot of optimism. We realized they were, at the most, a couple hours in front, so we really rocked through that leg.

TVGuide.com: We didn't get to see a lot of you guys this week since they focused more on the fights between Luke and Margie, and Kisha and Jen. Did you know about the fights when you got to the Pit Stop, or did you hear about them later?Mark: [The Sunday night broadcast] was the first time I'd even heard about it. But it wasn't surprising. You're racing for a million dollars and you're doing anything to get an advantage. It was getting to that point where you could see a lot of sparks were flying, so it was inevitable that something like that was going to happen.

TVGuide.com: Other teams have told me that Luke and Margie have been very devious. Were they ever that way to you?Mike: We actually got a long with everyone pretty well. There were minor incidents, but we got along. They're being competitive, but as far as having it in for us, nah.Mark: The only ones who've only ever really had problems with us were Cara and Jaime, and I think that was just due to their lack of personality. That's just the way they were. They carried that on from the beginning to the end. They couldn't help it.

TVGuide.com: A lack of personality? Jaime has come off as a little bit... mean.Mark: [Laughs] I didn't say that! Mike: They did have an alliance with Luke and Margie from the beginning, more so Luke than anything.

TVGuide.com: What are you up to now?Mike: I stunt-doubled Danny DeVito for a project in New York; it's called When in Rome, and that's out Aug. 7. I live in Maui. My wife makes jewelry from beach glass and we enjoy doing that and surfing together. Life is good, and I'm always looking forward to the next job as a stuntman. Mark: I just finished a kids' movie called Snowmen, and I did a little something in a movie that just came out — Crank: High Voltage. I'm just enjoying my kids and my wife — life in general. I'm still a very active jockey, so I'll keep doing that.

TVGuide.com: So do you have any advice for Madonna on how to stay on a horse?Mark: [Laughs] Ride a shorter horse! Mike: A Shetland!